Bur Cam 1/3 Hp Laundry Tub Pump won't stop running
#1
05-06-11, 10:39 AM
Bur Cam 1/3 Hp Laundry Tub Pump won't stop running
here is a link to my pump: Bur Cam Pumps 1/3 HP Laundry Tub Pump 300514W
This pump has served me well for the past 5 years, cycling on and off while draining (which is fine by me), until yesterday when I noticed a long string of lint in the laundry tub drain. I slowly pulled it out, being VERY careful, because I know how temperamental these pumps can be. Now the pump won't stop running whether or not there is water in the tub, and I have NO idea what happened, nor how to fix it.
I am a senior citizen female and the pump is installed so far under my laundry tub that I can't see a thing, even with a trouble lamp.
any ideas what might have happened, or how I can fix it?
btw, the pump was installed without the discharge flow adjuster (the red handle in the above pic); it didn't come with one. Irrelevant really because the pump worked fine until yesterday's adventure.
Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer
This pump has served me well for the past 5 years, cycling on and off while draining (which is fine by me), until yesterday when I noticed a long string of lint in the laundry tub drain. I slowly pulled it out, being VERY careful, because I know how temperamental these pumps can be. Now the pump won't stop running whether or not there is water in the tub, and I have NO idea what happened, nor how to fix it.
I am a senior citizen female and the pump is installed so far under my laundry tub that I can't see a thing, even with a trouble lamp.
any ideas what might have happened, or how I can fix it?
btw, the pump was installed without the discharge flow adjuster (the red handle in the above pic); it didn't come with one. Irrelevant really because the pump worked fine until yesterday's adventure.
Thank you in advance for any advice you can offer
#2
05-07-11, 07:52 AM
I've never worked on that type of pump but it I'm guessing that maybe some of that lint material got stuck in or is hanging up the switch mechanism that turns the pump on/off. The fix is probably going to be to remove and clean the pump/switch. Might be a job for a plumber. Add a lint filter to your washer's drain hose to keep the lint out of the tub...a couple of bucks almost anywhere.
#3
05-07-11, 08:45 AM
hello pumpguy, thank you for your response.
There is a lint filter on the washer hose.
A neighbour helped diagnose the problem this morning and he found nothing caught in the check valve, and, as you mentioned, he thinks it might be something caught in the switch too
so....I have a plumber coming by next week to take a peek and will reply back with results.
There is a lint filter on the washer hose.
A neighbour helped diagnose the problem this morning and he found nothing caught in the check valve, and, as you mentioned, he thinks it might be something caught in the switch too
so....I have a plumber coming by next week to take a peek and will reply back with results.
#4
05-11-11, 09:34 AM
Good afternoon pumpguy
The plumber took the switch off the pump, cleaned it off a tad (it wasn't dirty: nothing stuck in it) and it worked fine. When he reinstalled it (3 times btw) the pump would not shut off. He removed the switch again and lubricated the little white contact, put it back in and that time it DID shut off. We thought we had it beat: not so. Third time the pump wouldn't shut off. So the switch is intermittent and therefore unreliable. The price of the switch ($125 Cdn) makes buying a new pump preferable, so I'm looking around for another pump.
Thank you
The plumber took the switch off the pump, cleaned it off a tad (it wasn't dirty: nothing stuck in it) and it worked fine. When he reinstalled it (3 times btw) the pump would not shut off. He removed the switch again and lubricated the little white contact, put it back in and that time it DID shut off. We thought we had it beat: not so. Third time the pump wouldn't shut off. So the switch is intermittent and therefore unreliable. The price of the switch ($125 Cdn) makes buying a new pump preferable, so I'm looking around for another pump.
Thank you
#5
05-31-11, 10:51 AM
I had to buy a new pump Bur Cam Pumps Inc 1/3 Hp Laundry Tub Pump 300514W Sewage & Effluent Pumps | Sump Pump Sale Discount. Sump Pump Cheapest ... . The pump part is installed below the sink drain. The pump didn't come with installation instructions. Looking at the diagram I know the checkvalve fits into both the pump and the flow regulator, but I don't know which way the ball within the valve is supposed to face: outwards toward the flow regulator or inwards toward the pump itself.
The black checkvalve has outside threads on both ends, and the white flow regulator with the red handle has inside threads on both ends.
Any advice as to how to proceed would be most welcome. Thank you in advance.
B
The black checkvalve has outside threads on both ends, and the white flow regulator with the red handle has inside threads on both ends.
Any advice as to how to proceed would be most welcome. Thank you in advance.
B
#6
06-01-11, 03:55 AM
The check valve has to go one way only to let the water out but not back in. The ball valve usually doesn't matter which way it is installed. Some types of valves have a flow direction arrow on them but pvc valves usually don't.
#7
06-01-11, 04:45 AM
Thanks for your reply pumpguy.
I might not have explained it clearly enough but within that black checkvalve there is a ball. Apparently there is a directional arrow on the checkvalve itself which I couldn't see with the bad lighting in the basement.
Anyway the new pump got installed by a neighbour last night... resulting in the exact opposite problem of the first (old) pump. The old pump wouldn't STOP pumping because the pump switch was (apparently) defective.
The new pump won't START to pump, even with half a tub of water. The only way I could get it to remove water was to unplug the switch cord from the pump cord and plug the pump itself directly into the wall.
very frustrating !
I might not have explained it clearly enough but within that black checkvalve there is a ball. Apparently there is a directional arrow on the checkvalve itself which I couldn't see with the bad lighting in the basement.
Anyway the new pump got installed by a neighbour last night... resulting in the exact opposite problem of the first (old) pump. The old pump wouldn't STOP pumping because the pump switch was (apparently) defective.
The new pump won't START to pump, even with half a tub of water. The only way I could get it to remove water was to unplug the switch cord from the pump cord and plug the pump itself directly into the wall.
very frustrating !
#8
06-11-11, 02:50 PM
hello again
well... the plumber replaced the switch... and the pump works just fine now.
thanks very much for your advice, I appreciated it, and got quite an education in the process
Boots
well... the plumber replaced the switch... and the pump works just fine now.
thanks very much for your advice, I appreciated it, and got quite an education in the process
Boots
